The Evolution of Gender Monitoring and its Challenges: the Case of Research and Innovation in Europe

This article examines the European Commission’s flagship initiative on gender monitoring in science and innovation, offering a responsible metrics perspective informed by equality policy literature. We qualitatively analyse all She Figures reports since their inception in 2003, exploring how gender monitoring has evolved and in which directions. Our analytical framework addresses the why (justifications and purposes), what (concepts, translations, topics, policy focus), and how (policy process, gendered framing, contextualisation) of monitoring practices. We assess the challenges inherent in using monitoring as a governance instrument within the European Union, and propose improvements. Over two decades, the initiative has shifted from competitiveness-oriented justifications towards more transformative objectives linked to gender equality and policy evaluation. The focus of measurement has expanded—from merely tracking presence to also including institutional processes, albeit still marginally. Despite notable progress in data availability and contextualisation, the analysis highlights the persistence of a superficial gender perspective in the conceptualisation, framing, and selection of indicators. We argue that the policy process could better incorporate the voices of those affected. To that end, the article offers concrete proposals grounded in multidimensional perspectives aimed at enhancing policy learning and producing more effective equality policies. Our aim is to present an encouraging vision of monitoring, one that places greater emphasis on who is being monitored and promotes the opening rather than the closure of critical debates.